Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #42

[sallye818]

We have the bear hunts here too, in central VA! I love the Unicorn & Easter Bunny!!

 

[Trudie]

Our governor is the exact opposite of Cuomo. Beshear can spend 30+ minutes showing videos of people hiking or petting their cat before he gets to the facts. This is MOO, he sends a distinct message there is no bad news. Then half hour or so into his PC he gets to the numbers, but his audience has drifted to RL. He also begins his PC asking everyone to repeat “we will get through this” three times.
Imo, anyone tuning in wants hard facts.

Kentucky is putting ankle monitors on coronavirus patients who ignore self-isolation order

 

[escape2sc]

Here is the link that has peak dates by state

The coronavirus outbreak won't peak in every state at once

I was checking out the data for my state and noticed this under the chart "Shaded areas indicate uncertainty" I clicked on the info for that statement and this popped up...

Uncertainty is the range of values that is likely to include the correct projected estimate for a given data category. Larger uncertainty intervals can result from limited data availability, small studies, and conflicting data, while smaller uncertainty intervals can result from extensive data availability, large studies, and data that are consistent across sources.

The model presented in this tool has a 95% uncertainty interval and is represented by the shaded area(s) on each chart.

Am I understanding this statement to mean there is only 5% certainty in this chart
for my state ?

 

[10ofRods]

I’ve seen some of that. There have been reports to that effect for some time.

But I think that if it truly spread just from normal talking or breathing the rate of infection would be 90% of the population. But just to be conservative, if truly airborne like that, we could probably safely consider that 70% of our 7.8 billion population that could get it. Which would lead to about 1% of them dying. That’s 546 million people.

I personally don’t think that’s the case. The virus would be much more infectious than it appears to be. As it is it has a lower R0 than the measles. Far lower. The measles is much more airborne.

I do think that if you’re living with someone who is virulent and breathing the same air in an enclosed space or close together like in the same bed, your chances increase.

My biggest concern is walking into a room where someone has sneezed or coughed. If it was a couple seconds before that’s a danger. Especially if the area doesn’t have air circulation.

Healthcare workers are at higher risk because they’re in enclosed spaces with people coughing and sneezing forcefully.

I’m not a doctor or a scientist. But I did ask mine during a phone appointment. Health care officials are really trying to keep people apart because they can’t be counted on to not make mistakes when it comes to hygiene and stopping the spread. But my doctor did ultimately tell me that this spreads the same way a cold or flu does. Asymptomatic people can spread the flu as well.

How Flu Spreads

But unless your next to a person’s face when they breath or talk, there is no evidence you can get it. If an asymptomatic person coughs or sneezes from something else like an allergy or choking on food? Of course they can spread it.

Again, I’m not a doctor or scientist and thus no one should rely on my words. I’m just trying to use logic. And I think the real issue is too many still need convincing of the seriousness.

But you don't know how many people are infected. A lot of what you said is not, IMO, quite correct.

My doctorate is in anthropology and I have a degree in human biology as well. You do NOT have to be next to a person's face to get (where did you get that? the flu is not relevant here).

Here's the thing. Coronavirus has very different properties from the flu. Want to see a chart of SOME of them? Here's an article:

Into the Eye of the Cytokine Storm

The shape and physiology of this virus is very very different (hence the word "novel").

Back to the statistics. Iceland found that about 20-40% of its population (depending on locale) had already had CoVid19, despite it being an island. In other studies, 20-50% of regions have already had it - without symptoms. The shedding period for this virus is much longer than the flu and its attack on the immune system is getting up there with malaria. There are two strains - one seems much more damaging than the other. Both will eventually hit nearly every person on the planet - over the next 3-5 years. We urban and suburban dwellers will find it hits us within a year or 18 months (unless you live in a bubble).

Singing spreads it (because breathing deeply and exhaling can communicate it very well). 6 feet is a minimum distance. People have been infected at 12 feet. Even further. There's something called viral load. How much virus is in the person's lungs? If a lot (they are in hospital, etc), they have the ability to propel 12 feet away with a cough and infect their nurse, even if she has a surgical mask. She/he needs to be outside the room. That's a problem, especially since no one goes from their house to a room. Many people will encounter them on their way to the hospital. -with so much virus in them, that their breath can spread it to people 6-10 feet away. God forbid they ever get into an elevator (especially with the so-called blue strain). 3 feet is not enough.

Panting, yawning, coughing, sneezing, sighing spreads it further than 6 feet. 3 feet is not enough (at all) even with a common cold or flu (which can kill many people - surely we should rethink how we interact?)

Sweating, shaking hands, sharing a cup, poor hygiene in table wiping at restaurants, shared towels, all of that increases its spread.

In the end, we'll all get it. Many of us older people will die sooner than we would have.

But comparing it to the flu is somewhat limited. We have flu shots. We have nothing for this. Zilch, nada so far. And it's way more communicable than the flu. And while the flu causes inflammation, this virus attacks certain tissues (lung) and systems (spleen, immune cells) that give it the power to kill a lot of people.

Anyway, I truly hope you find you already have antibodies (wouldn't that be great?) and go on about your life in good health. People who have spiked a fever are probably not contagious if they wait a week after their fever breaks before ending quarantine - but no one knows about how long the virus lasts and transmits in the asymptomatic. The range in numbers is sobering. Those with mild symptoms transmit for up to 28 days (with an average, perhaps, of about 14).

On surfaces, it can live up to 72 hours (again, elevators are brutal, as are all metal tube thingies like airplanes, buses, subways, taxis), so add the last asymptomatic transmitter plus 72 hours - and yes, you can get it in an elevator or any small space occupied by many people. The Chinese studies show this clearly.

 

[LadyL]

Medical supplies seized from seller accused of hoarding get redistributed

The Health and Human Services Department said Thursday it used its authority under the Defense Production Act to distribute roughly 192,000 N95 respirator masks and a large haul of other scarce medical supplies that the FBI seized during the arrest of a Brooklyn man.

These supplies were distributed to healthcare workers in New York and New Jersey, HHS said.

[...]

FBI agents, as part of the Justice Department's Covid-19 Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force, seized the items, which in addition to the N95 masks also included: 598,000 medical-grade gloves, 130,000 surgical and other masks, surgical gowns, disinfectant towels, particulate filters, and bottles of hand sanitizer and spray disinfectants, the Justice Department and HHS said in a press release.

Coronavirus live updates: Cases top 1 million globally - CNN

wow!!! I wonder if he was trying to sell online and that's how they caught him

 

[Trudie]

I hope everyone heard Chris Cuomo describe the hell he’s in! He’s very candid & should scare everyone not social distancing!

 

[10ofRods]

This is helpful to know:


These Coronavirus Exposures Might Be the Most Danger

Does a high viral load or infectious dose make covid-19 worse?

The viral dose you are getting matters. A brief exposure to a person is better than a more prolonged exposure to that person, and being exposed to one person is better than being exposed to a group. Dose can affect the severity of your infection.

Yes, I keep trying to say this in one way or another. I must say it 20-30 times a day to colleagues or students. Every heathcare provider knows this (which is why they are heroes for walking into their workplaces - and staying there until shift end).

These Coronavirus Exposures Might Be the Most Dangerous

You just posted it, I'm posting it again. Viral loading is just part of my ordinary consciousness. Someone sneezed while I'm talking to them at an American distance of 3 feet? I walk away as soon as I can, and I hold my breath in the interim. Because 1 sneeze is already a large viral load (if the person has a virus) and several sneezes is worse. Put us in a small space (like my office) and it's much worse.

I stopped seeing students 5 years ago in the office with the door closed, in favor of a larger tutorial room with just 2 people in it - or 4 people space far apart - my California-decided office is smaller than a regulation jail cell). Some conversations require privacy - I go ask for a key to a rarely used private space. Half of the students wanting a "private" conversation are sick or have sick family members (not just during CoVid).

Just in general, if you're leaking body fluids into your immediate environment, I don't think you should be teaching at your pre-school, in your K-12 system, in a college or anywhere. You should not be a receptionist. You should mask up at work.

 

[Spartygirl]

There’s also the hearts in the window thing. I live in the country so I don’t bother with any of this but I noticed a neighbor whose house is down a long lane mounted a 4 or 5 foot heart at the top of their house. I have no idea how they got it up there or how it’s mounted, but no one could have seen a heart in their window so this was their answer.

That is AWESOME !!!
I saw a lot of teddy bears and few Easter Rabbits LOL

 

[Cool Cats]

.......Double....!!!

 

[LadyL]

I really hate to say this, because i try to stay positive most of the time, but because I am in my 70's with asthma, i have never felt a more existential threat to my life. My husband and I practice social distancing though we do go grocery shopping, which presents a risk--- we know that but ya gotta have food- I wash my hands all day long- I try to be as careful as I can but you can still contract the virus being as careful as you can be. i feel like I am in a horror film that won't end, and sadly I am part of the movie.

we're all scared
let's just say it
we're scared @#$%less
sending you hugs

 

[I'm Just Here]

Wow, that seems short sighted. No staff ever gets infected?

My sister wears a mask she made at the Nursing Home she works at. Other workers don't wear any.

 

[Spartygirl]

I hope everyone heard Chris Cuomo describe the hell he’s in! He’s very candid & should scare everyone not social distancing!

No-- I haven't see it, but I will gladly share it over SM as I have a few neighbors that, I believe, do NOT know what Social distancing means.
UGH

 

[Kensie]

Alabama reaches 1,200 confirmed COVID-19 cases

Why no stay home advisory for Alabama? WTH?

New data reveals coronavirus hotspots brewing across the south, where the pandemic is set to 'hit hard'

Georgia & Alabama need to address some things!

AL is almost at 1300 at 8:13 pm 4/2/20. I don't understand why the Governor has not ordered stay at home - something about businesses - whatever.

Few and far between: Governor Ivey answers questions on Twitter
People are not happy with this Governor. I don't remember a Governor that I have ever liked in AL.

I do remember George Wallace not because I liked him, but when I was a kid in NM and he came to speak , my dad dragged the whole family to the speech. Weird I lived in NM and heard GW from AL and now I am in AL.

 

[PommyMommy]

Why hasn't California hit its peak after two weeks of social distancing?

[...]

Fauci, the country's top medical expert on the coronavirus pandemic and a member of President Trump's coronavirus task force, said that it's in part because there is a delay in seeing the order's effect, despite knowing that the virus' incubation period can be up to two weeks

"Even when you suppress or stabilize the number of new infections, it's still going to take a little while before you decrease in hospitalizations, a decrease in intensive care and a decrease and deaths. And in fact, deaths are the last thing that lag. So you could be doing well, and having a good effect on mitigation, and still see the deaths go up," Fauci said. "I guarantee, that's exactly what's going to happen in New York City."

Coronavirus live updates: Cases top 1 million globally - CNN

 

[PommyMommy]

Should we be cleaning our cell phones more often?

[...]

"As we touch our phones frequently, but probably don't think to disinfect our phones as often as we wash our hands, I haven't seen any discussion or guidance given on this topic and wonder if you think it's a real concern. How should we properly disinfect our phones as part of our routine precautions?"
CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said phones are probably "the most common surface that we touch."

"Cleaning the phone, and wiping the phone ... is a good idea. I've been doing that pretty regularly," he said. Gupta also said that hospital doctors often put their phones in plastic bags to keep them a bit cleaner.

Coronavirus live updates: Cases top 1 million globally - CNN

 

[bluedivergirl]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...c73756-6d36-11ea-a3ec-70d7479d83f0_story.html

Experiments show that regulated breathing can slow heart rate, improve digestion, lower blood pressure and ease anxiety. Other research shows that conscious breathing patterns can lower cortisol levels and can even downregulate the amygdala, the anxiety center in the brain.

One such pattern, popularized by integrative medicine doctor Andrew Weil, is called 4-7-8. (Breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 7 and breath out for 8.)

“Often, [soft belly breathing] is the first step toward healing a variety of different kinds of trauma, dealing with chronic stress, and getting on the road to much greater resiliency,” he said in a recent interview with a wellness writer. “It’s an antidote to fight or flight — but it’s also an antidote to those feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.”

In these examples, breathing patterns varied but had three things in common: slowed respiratory rate, an exhale that is longer than the inhale and a breath that starts deep in the belly rather than high in the throat. The theory is that these activities turn on the vagus nerve, which sends calming messages to our brain and other organs.

<modsnip: snipped to comply with 10% copyright laws>

Inhale, Exhaaaaale and repeat.

bbm with Now, doesn’t everyone feel a little bit better?

This is very much like yoga breathing, and it absolutely works.

Another thing that helps me with anxiety ~ find something very tactile. Tree bark, bricks, stucco ~ something rough. Press into it with your hands while breathing, and trying to slow your thoughts. Concentrate on your breath and the feeling in your hands.

 

[PommyMommy]

How to sanitize your groceries

[...]

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said that since the virus is respiratory, you can't get it from contaminated food.

"It's more of a question of the packaging. You just have to think about, is there any risk of contamination in other ways. But you are not going to get a GI type thing from eating the virus.

Watch the video at the link on how to sanitize your groceries.

Coronavirus live updates: Cases top 1 million globally - CNN

 

[Kensie]

we're all scared
let's just say it
we're scared @#$%less
sending you hugs

I have said it here for the past few days. I AM SCARED.

 

[Spartygirl]

I have a teddy bear hanging in an upstairs window. Someone on our town FB page asked for approx locations and made a map for a scavenger hunt of sorts in the entire county.

Many friends I know also started this with rainbow hunt during Saint Pat's day week.

Today, a horse farm paraded their resident white horse around neighborhoods dressed as a unicorn (no harm to the horse). And the Easter Bunny is coming around on a pickup truck this weekend.

Every little bit helps, especially for the little ones.

How Awesome !!!
My heart is full of love and positive vibes as communities come together to help each other and provide special games, parades, etc for others to enjoy and brighten their days as we are indoors and staying away from friends and family at this time.
These communities are practicing Stay Home, Stay Safe while trying to bring smiles to others.

 

[PommyMommy]

Peru becomes the latest country to embrace gender-based quarantine

[...]

The new measures will begin in Peru today, President Martin Vizcarra announced to the nation on Thursday. So far, Peru has reported 1,414 cases of coronavirus and 55 deaths.

"Monday, Wednesday, and Friday," only men can be outside; "Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, only women are allowed to circulate," said Vizcarra. The gender-based measure will be in effect until Sunday, April 12.
It comes two days after Panama began restricting movement by gender, arguing the measure urges people to return home since their loves ones are not allowed to be outside.

[...]

Coronavirus live updates: Cases top 1 million globally - CNN